WHO SHOT SCOTT has dialled down the energy for a melancholic look at mental health on his final single of 2023.
“WIPEOUT” continues the Iranian-New Zealand artist’s commitment to always being fully open in his music. The groove may be somewhat buoyant, but the words creeping underneath are sincere about trauma.
The rapper pushes his voice to fascinating new places, too, his voice sometimes momentarily rising and breaking, and each time it’s smothered in ambiguity as to whether he’s overwhelmed by the emotion of the words or cathartically freed by talking so openly about inward things.
“It’s terrifying to be an artist,” WHO SHOT SCOTT confides. “I would love to present my life as one filled with optimism and joy all the time, but the simply truth is that I often feel hopeless and as if there is noting in the world that can take away the trauma I’ve endured, and that it’s too late to save me now.
“As dark as that thought is to share, I believe that it’s my duty to honour all of my emotions through art and present them as sincerely as I can. If nothing else, I hope it sends a message to anyone going through the same struggle that they’re not alone. That is why this song exists,” he adds.
WHO SHOT SCOTT and longtime collaborator Connor Pritchard shot a typically surreal music video for the reach, which you can watch below.
“WIPEOUT” is less frenzied than previous single, the intoxicating “BUGGIN”, which itself followed the wild “I HEAR THEM LAUGHING”. All three tracks will feature on WHO SHOT SCOTT’s upcoming EP, BRAIN (Side A), the follow-up to his recent well-received EP, MERCY III.
“I’ve realised the only thing that will make me fit into the world is being absolutely honest and authentic to my core, that just comes with a bit of maturity I suppose,” the rapper told Rolling Stone AU/NZ about his previous EP earlier this year.
WHO SHOT SCOTT’s “WIPEOUT” is out now.
